Speaking of what Pickup to Buy...

[wayoflife]

As much as Cindy and I love our 2006 GMC Sierra 2500 Duramax, it going on to being 20 years old and while it's still powerful and surprisingly reliable, it does lack a few creature comforts that we do wish it had. And to be clear, I don't think we'd give it much thought if we just used it locally like we had for years but now that we're spending more time out at Tin Camp and can really use a work/tow rig out there, they were things that we did start to think a lot more about. Needless to say, we did some looking around online, found something that could work out for us and at a price we were willing to pay and before we could think about it too much, we dropped what we were doing and were on our way to buying something new.

I don't know if any trip across Nevada is complete without some time spent on dirt

Making a stop for a quick bite at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.

Welcome to Oregon! I'm sure there are more than a few of you who can guess where we're heading by now.

Once again, how can we not spend a little time on dirt especially when it's so beautiful out

Welcome to Idaho! Getting closer.

Being that this was all a big spur of the moment kind of thing and not exactly close to home, we decided to pull into town, stay the night and so that we could pick up our new pickup, first thing in the morning. Needless to say, that afforded us a dinner out and at a really good Italian restaurant called ItallianesQue.

I should note that the owner and chef of this place just so happens to be a Jeep guy and his really nice CJ5 was parked out front. Of course, I only know this because it turns out he's also a fan who enjoyed our Jane series of videos

CHEERS to being impulsive and maybe a little crazy!

Did I mention the food here is really good?

Time to call it a night especially being that we lost and hour coming here and that means we have to get up earlier to get our new truck.

 

[wayoflife]

Good morning from Nampa, Idaho! While we love the one down in Winnemucca the most, all The Griddles are awesome and home to good cooking!

Knowing that it might take a bit to wrap things up at the dealership and being that we had a little time before they opened, we decided to stop at a local park and let Ripley burn off some steam.

And, that's how our trip to Peterson's went. I hope you enjoyed all the pics
































Oh, right - you're probably wondering what we ended up getting

Say hello to our new 2025 RAM 2500 with the new 6.7L Cummins HO Turbo Diesel Engine and 8-Speed TorquFlite Automatic Transmission.

Not gonna lie, we love our Duramax enough that we seriously considered getting another but holy hell, GM wants a LOT of coin for them! To get what we wanted, we would have had to pay about $20k more for it and there were other reasons why we wanted a RAM this time around.

Now granted, this RAM 2500 is just a Tradesman so it's pretty basic and Plain Jane but really, it's all that we really need being that it's a 2025 and that the 2026's are already on their way, we were able to get this truck with some nice upgrades including a big NAV/Infotainment System, Bilstein lift and 295 tires on Method wheels if you can believe it, all for about the same price of a new Jeep Gladiator Mojave or Rubicon X WITHOUT any options! Also, what really sealed the deal for us is that it does come with the new Cummins HO engine and new 8-Speed automatic and both really make it feel way more livelier than the previous setup (I always felt like it was a dog) and that was something I never really liked.

Here are a few more pics of it next to our Gladiator after taking it for a test drive and for comparison sake.

I should note that this truck did not come bedlined but we did have it added at the dealership and they were able to get it done the day we drove up so that it was ready for us in the morning.

Here are a few interior shots that I just took this morning.

And, here's a shot of the Bilstein suspension.

As I mentioned earlier, I don't think we would have bought this truck if all we did was use it locally but now that we're spending more time out at Tin Camp and can really use a work/tow rig out there, it was hard to miss creature comforts like satellite radio on the long drive out and maybe more importantly, a suspension system that feels more like a Jeep than a truck.

Originally, we were really hoping that Bandit, our 2023 Jeep Gladiator could fill the shoes of being both a work truck and a fun truck but towing with it just sucks and while the bed isn't completely useless, it kind of is or at least, for what we need it to do. The Duramax can tow great and is super useful as a truck but out on the trail, the leaf springs and torsion bars provide a ride that is... let's just say, less than desirable. Being that the RAM has coils front and rear, it really does feel more like a Jeep than just a truck and that means it can do the work we need it to do AND allow us to do some easy exploring in the area and without killing our kidneys.

Anyway, that's what we bought

 

[Disciple Off Road]

Wow congrats you guys!!! That will definitely solve your towing problems lol Super cool it already came with a lift and good looking Methods. Congrats again and the last minute trips are always the best for sure!

 

[jesse3638]

Looks good. Congrats on the new purchase!

 

[kevman65]

Congrats!

In honor of current events, I dub thee CRACKER......

 

[semicolon]

Congrats on the new ride! I have an 07 Duramax that just turned over 195k, and yes it rides like a brick!

 

[wayoflife]

Wow congrats you guys!!! That will definitely solve your towing problems lol Super cool it already came with a lift and good looking Methods. Congrats again and the last minute trips are always the best for sure!

Thanks! Clay and Tracie literally just left for home and we were on the road LOL

Also, our Duramax towed great but man, just doing a little exploring on the trails out there, it was hard not to want something a little more comfortable especially being that we always want to hit dirt.

Looks good. Congrats on the new purchase!

Thank you

Congrats!

In honor of current events, I dub thee CRACKER......

 

[wayoflife]

Congrats on the new ride! I have an 07 Duramax that just turned over 195k, and yes it rides like a brick!

Thanks! Also, I think on pavement and just for all around use, the ride is fine. But on even the easiest of trails, it was sucky for sure!

 

[RockyJk]

Congrats on the Ram! Evo makes suspension stuff for that right?

I bought the Gladiator thinking I could do truck stuff with it but it don’t compare to a full size lol

 

[Jsouder53]

Congrats on the new truck!

 

[Andy5160]

Awesome!!! So did you trade in anything?

 

[semicolon]

Thanks! Also, I think on pavement and just for all around use, the ride is fine. But on even the easiest of trails, it was sucky for sure!

I drop my tire pressure to help soften the ride. My Dad bought a 2023 Ram 3500 from Petersons a couple years ago. It turned out to be an emissions nightmare. It suffered electrical damage from a lightning strike and he then got a 2025 Ram 3500. It's been trouble free so far. I hope yours is trouble free as well. The torque on that Cummins is awesome!

 

[Ddays]

Sweet truck! Wait til you get to tow something - these HO diesels are just awesome. Like driving a freight train. I've always been a Ford truck guy, but I think Dodge has the nicest truck package these days. The nav & entertainment stack is hard to beat

 

[AZVAJKU]

Very cool, congratulations! We are looking forward to seeing this new tow rig!!

Surprised you got the white.

 

[DirtHeadDavis]

WOAH! Now that's a sweet truck! Congrats you guys!

Let me know if you want me to look after the ole Duramax, It'd get used regularly!

 

[Mike Pierson]

Shweeeeet! Nice rig!

 

[jeeeep]

awesome!

Nice color too

 

[wayoflife]

Congrats on the Ram! Evo makes suspension stuff for that right?

I bought the Gladiator thinking I could do truck stuff with it but it don’t compare to a full size lol

Thanks and yes, EVO does make stuff for it too

Congrats on the new truck!

Thank you.

Awesome!!! So did you trade in anything?

We didn't. In fact, I love our old Duramax with it's coveted pre-DEF LBZ engine, I really hate to get rid of it. My only problem is that we're way out of garage space and I really don't like leaving anything outside. So, we'll most likely sell it.

 

[JT@623]

The new Ram with the 8 speed is a great combo. Remember 6 in a row built to tow if it’s in a V you sit to pee

 

[RESURECTIONJK]

Solid upgrade guys. Keeps wear and tear off the JT also.